Leaving
by OceansAria
Summary: Years later, Jim and Ariel have just gotten married. He wakes up to his beautiful new wife the next morning only to remember that he has to depart that day for a mission with the ISU. He hadn't told her he when he was leaving, either.


He awoke not long after sunrise, the golden and pink light spilling on his face through the window in his-_their_-room. He rolled over, facing the most beautiful woman in the world, the woman who was now his till death did them part. Her scarlet hair fell in curls and wily waves over her pillow, her button nose scrunched up in the essence of her dreams. Her lips, as always, were inviting, and he wanted to desperately feel them pressed against his again.

But he had to go.

He sat up, still gazing at his wife. The carrot-colored freckles dotting the tops of her shoulders, shoulder blades, and some of her back were glowing in the fresh sunlight. He reached out and smoothed a curl from her face, watching her smile in her sleep. He couldn't imagine leaving her, not after all they'd been through.

But he had to.

He finally had to pull himself away by grabbing his trousers from the trunk at the end of the bed and a fresh shirt from the closet. Tucking his shirt in and belting his pants, he smiled to himself as she rolled around in bed, sighing and burrowing deeper beneath the covers.

He turned to a full-length mirror-and at the sight of himself-with shining grey-blue eyes, tousled hair, and a wistful smile, he almost couldn't recognize the man thrown back by the reflection. Usually, he was closed off to the world; the exact opposite of his wife-man, he loved that word-who was an open book.

_It's all because of her, _he thought joyously, bending to retrieve his pack from the depths of the closet.

It took him all of ten minutes to eat a quick breakfast and finish packing his few belongings. He'd never kept much at hand, being that he'd been brought up to believe that at any moment you might have to just drop everything and run. The only things valuable he carried with him was a sphere that was a map of space, and now, a golden band on his left hand ring-finger.

He decided that he didn't want anything to happen to the ring, being that it held a lot of meanings in just the small circle of metal. He dug around the small cottage from a moment and came up with just what he'd been searching for: a leather cord.

Sliding the ring off his finger and on the cord, he drew it over his head and felt the reassuring weight at the hollow of his throat.

He heard his wife stirring in the next room, and, glancing at a clock, saw that he still had time before he had to take off.

He hated not facing her; he'd told her of his mission and had left out the part-on purpose-about the day of his departure. He hadn't wanted her dwelling on thoughts of despair on the day of their wedding. He had wanted her as happy and bubbly as she always was and to have the time of her life.

He grabbed a piece of paper from his workshop and a pencil, too. Sitting down a the small wooden table in the tiny kitchen, he shook his head, not knowing what to write. So he began with the simplest thing he could:

_Dear Ariel._

He shook his head again. _No, _he thought, _that sounds way too formal. _Erasing the dismissed greeting, he decided to go with what sounded like something he would say.

_Sweetheart,_

_I hate to leave you like this. I hate to say goodbye when I don't know how long this trip is going to last. _

_What I will say is this: I love you._

_Don't forget that, okay?_

_My mother, as before decided, is giving you a job at the Benbow Inn for as long as you want. Your father is rooming there for now with all of your sisters. I don't want you to cut yourself off from the world. Be with them. Talk to them. Don't isolate yourself, okay?_

_I want to tell you something else, something that's a little off subject._

_When I woke up this morning, and I saw you lying there next to me, it was so hard to get out of bed and pack my clothes. It was even harder knowing that I wouldn't get to hear your voice or your laugh again, or touch you, or feel you kiss me one more time for God knows how long. _

_Wherever you are, that's where my home is. My heart, too. _

_We're in this together, right? Through sickness and health, through richer or poorer. Till death do us part. _

_I'll write you when I can._

_Don't forget me._

_I love you._

_Jim._

He folded the note, stood, and with lead feet, went back into the bedroom for the last time.

She had come to lie on her back, her chest rising and falling under the covers. He placed the note on his pillow, eyes on her the whole time. He then took her face into his hands, and praying she wouldn't wake because that would surely break him, he pressed his lips lightly to hers, hardly a brush. He then kissed her neck for good measure, and straightening, cleared his throat. He hated crying. It was one of the many things that he'd claimed made you less of a man.

He took his time gathering his bag and putting on his jacket. The dock was exactly next to their house, and he could see the ship from where he stood at the front window.

Sighing, he felt a nudge at his cheek. It was Morph, his little alien. Morph cooed and cuddled at him until he let out a low chuckle, satisfying him. Morph then slipped into the pocket of his jacket and snuggled down to nap.

He opened the door as slowly as he could and closed it behind him while his chest caved in on itself. He felt like he could hardly breathe as he began to walk down the path to the dock, his vision slightly blurry, brow furrowed in concentration. His footsteps sounded like drums when he pounded down the dock, all the way to the end, and patted and slapped on the back by old friends and crew mates.

"Hawkins!" John Silver came into view, blocking his path to the below decks. "I hear you have a wife now! Congratulations!"

He felt sick as he nodded and went past him. Dropping his bag on a cot, he returned to the poop deck to get some fresh air before he had any work to do. Minutes passed, and his head still didn't feel any better. Before he knew it, the captain was calling to pull the anchor aboard and set sail.

That's when he saw the tiny, redheaded figure in a silky blue robe running down the path to the dock. He could hear her voice all the way from there, screeching one word.

"JIM!"

His heart thundered loudly in his chest. Crew mates turned to see what the yelling was all about, and he blushed.

"JIM! DON'T GO!"

The dock way hadn't been pulled yet. He dashed for it, leaping across it and on the dock itself. She ran right into his arms, naked except for the robe, skin exposed up to her thighs. He buried his face in her shoulder, kissing it all the way up her neck to her lips. She kissed him just as hungrily, mangling the back of his shirt with her delicate palms.

When they broke away, both breathing heavily, they pushed their foreheads together. He felt tears running down both of their faces, intermingling at their chins.

"J-Jim," she sobbed, clutching at him. "Please, p-please, don't leave me."

His heart broke. "Ariel, I wish I could stay, believe me-"

"Then I'll come with you!" she cried, pecking him lightly.

His face fell. "No, sweetheart. I've already asked." He took her face into his hands. "And I couldn't bear it if anything happened to you."

Her bottom lip trembled. "Please, Jim. I'll do anything." She ran her hands down his muscular chest and abdomen. "I _can't_ lose you," she whispered desperately.

He kissed her fervently and pulled back to murmur, "You never will."

He embraced her, his fingers holding her to him with all of his strength. As they pulled apart, both somber, she straightened his shirt, smoothing away the wrinkles she had created with a small smile.

"I love you, Ariel," he whispered, trying to get her to look him in the eyes.

She raised her head, focused those aquamarine eyes on his, and murmured, "I love you too, James. With all of my heart."

He kissed her one last time and re-boarded the ship. He watched her curvy figure as she wrapped her arms around herself, feeling cold in the October air without Jim to block it. She raised her hand and waved, her arm, and heart, heavy. He waved in return and gave her one of his heart-stopping grins.

"Don't forget me," she yelled.

He laughed. "Forget you? _Never."_

She giggled like a school girl and stood, watching, until the ship disappeared from sight. Then she sat down on the dock, put her head in her hands, and cried her eyes out. Little did she know that her husband, miles away, was fighting back tears as well.


End file.
